Capitol Hill massacre

Infobox civilian attack
title = Capitol Hill massacre


caption =
location = Seattle, Washington, United States
coordinates =
date = Saturday, March 25, 2006
time =
timezone = PST
type = mass murder, murder-suicide,
fatalities = 7 (including the perpetrator)
injuries = 2
perp = Kyle Huff
weapons = Winchester Defender shotgun, Ruger handgunThe Capitol Hill massacre was a mass murder that occurred on the morning of Saturday, March 25, 2006, when 28-year-old Kyle Aaron Huff entered a rave afterparty in the southeast part of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood and opened fire, killing six and wounding two. He then turned the gun on himself as he was being confronted by police on the front porch of 2112 E. Republican Street.

Timeline

Prior to the shooting, on the evening of Friday, March 24, 2006, a zombie-themed rave called "Better Off Undead" was held at the Capitol Hill Arts Center. CHAC states a maximum attendance of 350 throughout the evening and the promoters claim a maximum attendance of 500 people through the evening, with about 350 at the peak. By nearly all accounts, CHAC itself had excellent security at the rave (with over 20 security personnel on staff), and the only connection of the massacre to the rave was that the perpetrator and the victims attended the rave, and that one of the victims invited the perpetrator to the afterparty.Angela Galloway and D. Parvaz, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264855_shootdance30.html No rave crackdown coming] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", March 30, 2006. Accessed 7 April, 2006.] Josh Feit and Dan Savage, [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=31362 Raving Mad] , "The Stranger", Mar 30 - Apr 5, 2006. Accessed 7 April, 2006.] At the event, Kyle Huff was invited to attend an afterparty at a home about a mile away. Sometime between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Saturday morning Huff left the event to attend the afterparty.

A last-minute invitee, Huff did not personally know anyone at the afterparty. He was quiet but spoke pleasantly with everyone as the afterparty progressed. One person says that they shared a bowl of marijuana. Nobody recalls him leaving, and there was no altercation or belligerent behavior exhibited by Huff.

Close to 7 a.m., Huff left the house and returned to his large truck, parked nearby. From the truck he retrieved a 12-gauge pistol-grip Winchester Defender shotgun and a .40-caliber semiautomatic Ruger handgun, and several bandoliers (over 300 rounds) worth of ammunition for the guns.On the arsenal used: Tracy Johnson and Angela Galloway, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264597_huffarsenal28.html Police seized Huff's guns once] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", March 28, 2006. Accessed online 24 July 2006.] On his way back to the after party, he spray-painted the word "NOW" on the sidewalk and on the steps of a neighboring home. Upon arrival, he shot five victims who were outside talking: two on the steps, the others on the porch. He forced his way in through the front door of the house and shot two more people on the first floor. During the shooting Huff allegedly stated "There's plenty for everyone," or something similar. On the second floor, he fired through the locked door of a bathroom where a couple had taken refuge inside the bathtub; neither person was hit. At least one other victim was injured during the shooting and taken to Harborview Medical Center, and at least one died at the hospital.

The shooting inside the house lasted five minutes. A patrol officer nearby, Steve Leonard, heard the shots and headed to the scene, getting the address from multiple 911 dispatches. When he got to the house, he encountered an injured victim and immediately got between the victim and the house, as Huff was coming down the steps. Before the officer could complete his demand that Huff drop his weapon, Huff put the gun in his mouth and shot himself through the head. [Tom Francis, [http://www.thestranger.com/blog/2006/03/he_didnt_show_a.php “He didn’t show a lot of emotion.”] on SLOG, "The Stranger's" blog, March 25, 2006. Accessed online 24 July 2006.] [Sam Skolnik, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264412_shoottimeline26ww.html Capitol Hill massacre: A timeline of events] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", March 26, 2006. Accessed online 24 July 2006.]

Following the shooting police found that Huff's truck contained a Bushmaster XM15 E2S rifle, another handgun, several more boxes of ammunition, a baseball bat, and a machete. On Saturday afternoon the Seattle Police Department served a search warrant on the North Seattle apartment that Huff shared with his identical twin brother, Kane, where they found more guns and ammunition. During the search, Huff's brother returned home, unaware of what had happened. He was taken into custody, questioned, then later released.

On March 28, the Church Council of Greater Seattle, led by the Rev. Sanford Brown and other local clergy, held an interfaith prayer service [KING-TV News, March 28, 2006, [http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_032706WABshootings_investigationJK.680c3f23.html "Killer: 'plenty for everyone'"] ] at the site of the massacre. The service was attended by over 500 people.

Legacy

The Capitol Hill massacre was the worst mass killing in Seattle since the 1983 Wah Mee massacre in which 14 died. ["Seattle Times" staff, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002890303_massacres26m.html Capitol Hill rampage worst since Wah Mee Massacre] , "Seattle Times", March 26, 2006. Accessed April 7, 2006.] While Seattle and the Pacific Northwest in the past half-century have had numerous serial killers—most notoriously Ted Bundy, "Green River Killer" Gary Ridgway and Robert Lee Yates —mass murder is much rarer in the city and region. ["Post-Intelligencer" staff, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/109337_serial20.shtml Suspected or convicted serial killers in Washington] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer". Originally published February 20, 2003, updated several times, accessed April 7, 2006.]

In the wake of the killings, the "Seattle Times", invoking the drugs and alcohol the victims apparently enjoyed that night, immediately suggested late-night activities of the underaged to be more regulated and called for the city's all-ages dance rules to be "thoroughly re-examined and re-tooled." [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002892098_shooted27.html Soul-searching after Capitol Hill tragedy] , "Seattle Times" editorial, March 26, 2006. Accessed June 13 2006.] [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002895894_danced29.html Protect teens with new dance rules] , "Seattle Times" editorial, March 29, 2006. Accessed 7 April, 2006.] This view was firmly opposed by alternative weekly "The Stranger". Josh Feit and "Stranger" editor-in-chief Dan Savage wrote in response to the "Times" editorial:

Far from endangering kids, teen dances keep kids safe. If the young people hadn't been at a crowded public dance overseen by extensive security (19 guards were at CHAC on Saturday night) where no one got hurt, the kids would likely have been out at unchaperoned and completely unregulated house parties—not after the dance, "but all night". And, without a fat calendar of all-ages events, that's where they would be every weekend. Because without organized all-ages dances and live-music events, house parties and parking lots are all kids have.

The views predominating among the city's politicians and other leaders turned out to be closer to those of "The Stranger" than the "Times". As mayor Greg Nickels put it, "This is not about music, this is not about a party. This was about a guy who decided he was going to kill people and he had the firepower to do it." Several city council members spoke up against the "quick fix" mentality inherent in the "Times" editorial; council member Peter Steinbrueck added he was "really incredulous over young teenaged girls going out all night unsupervised and mixing with much older people," but didn't see that as an issue over the nature of the place where they had socialized. Sandra Williamson, mother of shooting victim Christopher "Deacon" Williamson, announced, "I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that those raves continue… That is what I am going to do for Chris." The "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" added that "even… former City Attorney Mark Sidran", whom they described as "Seattle's best-known defender of underage dance restrictions," said that "Some tragedies defy any sort of rational response in terms of regulation because they're completely irrational events you can't really predict or prevent."

As it happens, the killings occurred only days before Mayor Nickels was to announce the city's support for the non-profit VERA project (which puts on all-ages punk/indie shows) moving into a new location at Seattle Center, [Megan Seling, [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=31392 Underage] , "The Stranger", Mar 30 - Apr 5, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.] so that at the time of the killings all-ages events were more than routinely on the minds of city leaders, and in a more than typically positive light. Four years earlier, Seattle repealed a rather extreme and limiting Teen Dance Ordinance (TDO), replacing it with the much more flexible All-ages Dance Ordinance (AADO). [ [http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/mayor/issues/all_age.htm Council Passes Dance Ordinance] , August 12, 2002, on the Seattle Mayor's site. Accessed 8 April 2006.] In the course of the exchanges in the wake of the murders, musician and activist Ben Shroeter wrote that the AADO made possible legitimate, well-run dances, instead of the sometimes very drug-ridden underground events that had illegally occurred in the TDO era. "The dangerous 'underground' rave has virtually disappeared in the Seattle area," wrote Shroeter. "I’d rather have my daughter at CHAC or VERA Project than in the beckoning custody of unregulated and lecherous slimeballs." [Letter from Ben Shroeter, included in Josh Feit, [http://www.thestranger.com/blog/archives/2006/04/02-08.php#a005361 The Boy Who Cried Wolf?] , on "Slog", "The Stranger"'s blog. Accessed 8 April 2006.]

Victims

;Dead

*Melissa Moore, 14 [Benjamin J. Romano, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002893498_webmoore27.html Melissa Moore, 14, remembered as loving and generous] , "Seattle Times", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.]
*Suzanne Thorne, 15 [Debera Carleton Harrell, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264543_suzanne28.html Suzanne Thorne, 15: A gregarious teen who liked music, partying] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.]
*Justin "Sushi" Schwartz, 22 [David Postman and Warren Cornwall, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002893111_webschwartz27.html Justin Schwartz remembered: "He was just a warm, energetic, fun-loving person"] , "Seattle Times", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.] [ [http://www.myspace.com/sushiismyname Sushi] on MySpace]
*Christopher "Deacon" Williamson, 21 [David Postman, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002891731_victims27m.html Christopher Williamson remembered as a budding DJ] , "Seattle Times", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.] [ [http://deacon808.livejournal.com/ Deacon808] on LiveJournal.] [ [http://www.myspace.com/deacon808 Deacon808] on MySpace.]
*Jeremy Martin, 26 [Christine Willmsen, Jack Broom and Sonia Krishnan, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002890294_victims26m.html Jeremy Martin known for his curiosity, hard work] , "Seattle Times", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.]
*Jason Travers, 32 [Emily Heffter and Christine Willmsen, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002893143_webtraversprofile27.html Jason Travers remembered as gentle man, good listener] , "Seattle Times", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.]

;Injured

*Kian Movasagi, 18 [Vanessa Ho, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/308849_rampage24.html On anniversary of Capitol Hill killings, the pain lingers] ]
*Another unidentified teenage victim [Todd Matthews, [http://www.seattlemag.com/capitalhill.asp One Year Later] ]

Perpetrator

Kyle Aaron Huff (September 22, 1977 – March 25, 2006) was the shooter in the morning massacre. Huff's motive remains unknown.

Huff claimed to have attended The Art Institute of Seattle and North Seattle Community College, although neither institution has records of him attending.

He had previously been arrested in his hometown of Whitefish, Montana, for destroying a public arts project and was charged with a felony. (He shot up a statue of a moose that was part of an installation called "Moose on the Loose.") He was described by residents there as a well-liked person with a minor history of delinquency. He moved to Seattle with his twin brother about five years before the shooting. He had little contact with police in Seattle, but was involved in a brawl at the Lobo Saloon in 2004. [Phuong Le, Angela Galloway, and Mike Lewis, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264590_huff28.html Killer was a 'gentle giant,' 'quick to anger] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.]

The weapons used were purchased legally at sporting goods stores in Kalispell, Montana. [Jennifer Sullivan and Mike Carter, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002893027_webshooter27.html Two of Capitol Hill killer's victims were teenage girls] , "Seattle Times", March 28, 2006. Accessed 8 April 2006.] They were seized by the police in Whitefish after he pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor mischief charge in the moose incident. They were returned after he paid restitution and a fine. The original felony charge for destroying the art would have prohibited him from owning firearms.

Huff was not well known in Seattle's rave scene. Very few people in the scene knew him or interacted with him. On February 1, 2006, someone with the email address [e-mail] asked on an internet message board run by local raver Groovinkim when the next rave was, because he'd never been to one. [ [http://books.dreambook.com/groovinkim/seattleraves.html kim's seattle raves page] . Accessed 8 April 2006.]

A possible window into the killer's motives appeared nearly a month after the event. An apartment manager of a complex about a mile from Huff's residence called police about a possible bomb he found while inspecting dumpsters, although that bomb turned out to be just modeling clay and wires. In the investigation afterwards, police found a handwritten note in the dumpster apparently written by Huff. On June 6, the police released the letter, not yet authenticated, to the media. [Claudia Rowe, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/273005_letter07.html Letter rages at ravers' lifestyle] , "Seattle P-I", June 7, 2006.] A week later, the Washington State Patrol's State Crime Lab concluded that it was "highly probable" that the letter was authentic. Arguments in favor of authenticity included the fact that the letter was written on stationery from the apartment complex where the Huff brothers lived, and matched several known samples of the killer's writing, according to crime lab experts. [ AP, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Seattle_Shooting.html 'Probable' Huff wrote letter after mass shooting] , "Seattle Post-Intelligencer", June 13, 2006.] "The Stranger" earlier claimed that the handwriting on the letter appears the same as samples from a job application of Huff's that they have obtained. [Thomas Francis, [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=37331 Parting Shot] , "The Stranger", Jun 1 - Jun 7, 2006]

The letter, dated two days before the killings, was quite specific in expressing the writer's anger at young ravers for their provocative lifestyle, particularly their sexual freedom, and said that the things they did and said were too disturbing for the writer to live with. It ended with the quote "Now, kids, Now", reminiscent of the letters "NOW" that Huff spray painted during the massacre.

In July 2006, an investigative panel released its findings to the public. In attempting to explain Huff's motivations, the panel suggested that a song by Nirvana called "I Want to Know Now", with a chorus refrain of "now, now, now, now" influenced Huff's spray painted message. [Jennifer Sullivan and Hal Bernton, [http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=webhuff17&date=20060717&source=st Mass killer Huff stalked rave community, panel reports] , "The Seattle Times", July 17, 2006 ]

External links

* [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264412_shoottimeline26ww.html Capitol Hill massacre: A timeline of events]
* [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/264374_shootingraves25ww.html?source=mypi Ravers flock to Web for news]
* [http://www.jeremymartin.org/ Jeremy Martin memorial]
* [http://www.seattlememorialtemple.org/ Seattle Memorial temple project]
* [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=31345 A comprehensive feature about the events in "The Stranger", a local Seattle paper]
* Maureen O'Hagan and Christine Willmsen, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002921904_roommates10m.html House that once stood for fun now a darker blue] , "Seattle Times", April 10, 2006. A follow-up article three weeks afterwards about the people who lived in the house (five out of six survived).
* Sara Jean Green, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002901121_911tapes31m.html 911 calls from in house, outside reflected horror of killing spree] , "Seattle Times", March 31, 2006. Includes links to audio of the 911 calls.
* James Alan Fox, [http://www.cityofseattle.net/police/Publications/Special/CapitolHillPanelReport.pdf Panel Report on the March 25, 2006 Capitol Hill Shooting] . July 17, 2006.

References